Night
by TigerstripeCrayon
Summary: Hinata loved the night. She would find herself outside when it was dark, peaceful in this other world. She loves it so much that one day, she doesn't come back, and travels far away. She meets Sasuke Uchiha, and shares with him the night world. SasuHina


Hinata loved bedtime.

She loved taking a nice, warm bath; her footsteps making a pattering sound as she travelled down the hallways, the house asleep. She loved the silence and quiet, when there was no more yelling, no more pressure, no more stress.

But as much as she loved _bedtime_, Hinata could never actually sleep. She never really understood it, but still, just lying there underneath her warm covers, she felt... incomplete.

So she would escape. In the dead of night, she would leave through her window, as silent as shadow.

She never knew where she was going until she got there. A clearing in the shadow thrown forest, lit up by the moon; a clear waterfall, the liquid spiralling downwards in the most startling shade of crystal blue; a cliff wall a deep, perfect, smooth black, virtually perfect. She wouldn`t be able to tell that these places were the same between night and day. The night was her world, filled with wonders only she knew.

And still, the members of the house always found her fast asleep in her bed in the morning, the windowsill open and the pale pink curtains swaying slightly in the breeze.

The night was the only world she could be free. She was older now, and she didn`t even bother to try to sleep anymore. The night wasn`t frightening; it was exciting and just waiting for her, the darkness her only audience and cloaking her from other eyes.

Every day, Hinata felt herself slipping away further and further, more and more reluctant to return home and slip through her windowsill, the portal between her two worlds.

And one night, she didn`t. She just ran and ran; her footsteps so graceful and quick she was dancing across the ground. It was like she was flying. It was like she was _free_.

The sun rose, she came to next town, and it was just _gone_; Konoha, her family, being a failure heiress, and all of the pain that came with not being loved back.

Hinata never imagined it would feel this good.

She would be declared a missing nin, but she had never felt so found. She was anything but lost.

For years she just wandered. Through the night she would travel, flying by ink black lakes and through forests that stretched on forever in every direction.

Some would say that she was lost, but she only thought she was free.

And then she met Sasuke.

The last she had seen him, he had been clean and perfect like he had been as a child. Now, he was dishevelled and covered in dirt, his hair stuck out in all directions, and his cloak was ripped. He travelled alone, without his team now that he had defeated his brother. Now, he was just running, since he had nationally been declared such a dangerous criminal he should be killed on sight, and Hinata could tell.

But to her, he couldn`t look more perfect.

Sasuke smiled, his mouth curling and his teeth showing, looking so creepy it made Hinata wonder what he had gone through in Orochimaru`s lair.

"Look here," He spoke, his voice like velvet. It was too perfect to be real. It was almost predatory sounding, sending shivers up her spine. "The perfect little Hyuuga heiress. What're you doing so far away from home, little dove?" He leaned in, and his breath wafted over her face, sickly sweet.

"_Step back_," She ordered, and Sasuke gave that same creepy smile. He brushed some of her midnight black hair from her face before leaning back, seeming more amused than anything else.

"So little dove grew some backbone?" He mocked.

Hinata stepped back, nearly stumbling. But she wasn't afraid, no she hadn't been afraid since she'd left. That was the old Hinata; the stressed heiress that wouldn't hurt anyone.

Now she was a missing nin. Hinata took a step forward as she shifted her weight forwards to give her strength more power, her hand was too fast to see as it struck out at him using her jyuuken.

He still caught her hand.

He leaned forward again, his breath fanned over her ear as he whispered, "Too slow, little dove."

He moved so fast his hand was a streak as it moved towards her neck, and suddenly she was falling, and her eyes were closing.

When Hinata awoke, it was dark.

Or at least, that was the first thing she noticed. Shortly after, she was made aware of the horrible smell in the air, and she quickly screwed up her face, sitting up and covering her nose with her shirt. Then she noticed the cold. It felt like it was freezing in the arm, making goose bumps on her arms and making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The surface she had been laying on was cold as well, and she could tell it was made of metal. The cold felt like it had settled deep into her bones.

Curious and feeling trapped, Hinata swung her feet off the table, determined to get out.

"Where are you going, little dove?" A voice rang through the air, and Hinata froze mid-step, her eyes flickering around, trying to see through the cloak of darkness. She thought she had liked darkness, but that was so wrong. She liked the night, where there was never full darkness or full light, or any real boundaries.

The famous missing nin walked towards her, that much she could tell. However, she couldn't tell where he was, or where he was coming from. His footsteps echoed across the room and back, and Hinata could barely hear herself think. She wanted to fall to her knees and cover her ears, but she resisted, listening closer. The only reason she knew he was getting closer was because the footsteps were getting louder.

Then there was suddenly a hand on her face, brushing her hair back away from her neck. Hinata was so shocked and scared she couldn't move. She could feel his breath on her neck, and she involuntarily shivered. Then suddenly, he licked her neck. She shrieked and spun around and pulled away from him, whirling around so that her hair covered her neck again. "Wh-what are you doing?" She cried.

She could barely see him; shadow on shadow; but she could still feel his smirk. "What's wrong, hime? Why would you run away if you didn't want something like this? You should know the world is dangerous."

Hinata could feel her anger rising. He was _mocking_ her. "I ran because I wanted to make my own decisions. You of all people should understand that." No stutter, no waver, no uncertainty- Even Hinata was impressed with herself.

Even though Sasuke showed no outward signs, Hinata could tell she had bothered him a little bit. "Hn. The way out's behind you, in the right corner."

Hinata didn't move.

"What's wrong, little dove? Don't you want to run away?"

"What time is it?" She asked, ignoring his last words.

"What?" He asked, confused as to if he had heard her words right.

"What time is it? Is it night?"

"Yes,"

"Then come with me."

Curious, Sasuke followed her as she swept out of the room, stopping as soon as she had exited the building, spreading her arms and spinning around and around, just enjoying the outside. Hesitantly, he followed her as she stopped and then suddenly sprang into a run, moving through the trees in the nearby forest. He couldn't help but think her graceful. She wasn't really running it seemed, more like she was a mixture of dancing and flying, and it was mesmerising.

He didn't know where she was going, she would go one way only to double back and go another, then she would zigzagging, then she would be running through the tree branches. Btu eventually, she led them to a clearing, the moonlight streaming through the air and shadowing the grass on the clearing, and it seemed as though they were walking on midnight. The small pool of water was an impossible blue, seeming so depthless it was breathtaking. The light bounced off the rocks and surrounding trees, casting shadows. The whole thing was surreal.

Hinata just slowed and then seemed to float over to the pond, looking like a part of the world herself with her halo of black hair and white eyes that matched the moonlight. Her jacket slipped from her shoulder, and she rested it on a rock. She a simple black tank top with her ripped up pants, and she stepped out onto the water. Hinata turned to look at Sasuke, and extended one hand, waiting for him, offering for him to join this strange world.

He looked into her white eyes, her appearance making her look an angel of death, and angel of night. He was moving towards her without realising it, and only knew when he had grasped her hand, and she burst into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Slowly, gracefully, she led him onto the water, and then she held him, and started swaying, the pond her dance floor. Had Sasuke been in a different situation, he would have thought this idea absurd. But this was just so _her_, so perfect and graceful and simply stunning even though the idea was ridiculous, and this was such a different world that it didn't even feel silly as he twirled her, breaking what should have been impossible as they stepped across the depths.

It felt too soon when streaks of pink appeared in the sky, signalling morning. Sasuke didn't even feel tired. Reluctantly, he led her back to the old building as the sky lightened, turning pick to yellow to the lightest blue.

They entered the home and Sasuke led her to the room her stayed in with a bed and warm blankets, offering it to her. Hinata smiled and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards it behind him, sitting him down and then making him lay, and he opened his mouth to object, but she just gave him a sweet smile before lying in front of him, and he wrapped his arms around her and rested his face in her shoulder. Hinata wasn't sure why she was surprised that he was warm instead of the bone chilling cold of the basement of the building that she had been in before.

And for the first time, Hinata slept soundly the moment she closed her eyes.


End file.
